Martin, Bibby lead Kings to fourth straight win

In a sloppy contest, Martin scored 29 points and Mike Bibby
added 21, including two clutch baskets down the stretch, as the
Sacramento Kings matched a season high with their fourth
straight win, an 86-77 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

After winning four in a row from November 6-15 as part of an 8-5
start to the season, the Kings have gone just 13-21 since.
However, they have reeled off an impressive streak and now are
just two games behind Denver (23-24) for the eighth and final
playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"We played the three teams in front of us the last three games
(before Chicago), so we knew those were like two-for-one, but
we've got to beat the other teams, too," Martin said. "We are
starting to get into a groove after not liking our standings. We
have been playing good basketball lately."

One of the most efficient players in the league, Martin is
averaging 20.7 points on 50 percent shooting through 45 games
this season. On Thursday, it was no different as Martin was
9-of-16 from the field, nailing numerous tough jumpers from the
perimeter, and 9-of-12 from the line.

However, Kings coach Eric Musselman thought it was his team's
defensive effort that sparked the victory.

"I think our team did a great job defensively," Musselman said.
"Our energy and effort at the defensive end was phenomenal. The
guys did a great job of executing both in the zone and
(man-to-man defense)."

Leading, 76-65, with six minutes remaining, Sacramento allowed
Chicago to reel off seven straight points capped by Kirk
Hinrich's jumper to make it 76-72 with 4:09 left.

That's when Bibby stepped up. Answering the run, the star guard
nailed contested jumpers on back-to-back possessions to
increase the Kings' advantage to 80-72 with just under three
minutes remaining and squelch the Bulls' rally.

"We'll take it. We've been on kind of a hot streak," Bibby
said. "We definitely didn't shoot the ball well tonight but got
the stops when we needed to and made the big buckets when we
needed to."

Sacramento forward Ron Artest agreed that the team could have
played better.

"When we were losing I had confidence in this team, but now that
we are winning, I'm not all that satisfied because I know we
can keep doing better," Artest said. "We are playing the same
basic basketball, but our team effort and energy has been the
key of late."

Luol Deng scored 20 points and Hinrich added 18 for Chicago,
which shot just 33 percent (34-of-102) and dropped to 8-16 on
the road, with 10 of the losses coming against Western
Conference opponents.

The Bulls dropped to 2-3 on their current seven-game road trip.
They will finish the swing against Golden State on Friday and
Phoenix on Sunday.

"We had a lot of good looks, but they just didn't go down," Deng
said. "Normally those are shots we make. It's a road trip,
and we'd rather be at home but we have to get it done. We still
have to finish this trip."

"It's happened a couple times on this trip now where, you look
at the tape, and (Gordon) just looks slower than he does other
games," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. "He comes off
pick-and-rolls and big guys can stay with him and just stop him.
Other times, he goes right back at the big guys and has a burst
of speed.

"Defensively, he was a step slow again. He's become a much
better defender, so when you see him a little bit slowed on that
end we become concerned, and he had trouble putting it in."

Gordon disagreed.

"I don't feel like I'm playing at a slow pace," Gordon said.
"I'm just not putting that ball in the basket."